Adjustable supporting device for sanitary napkins and the like



July 14, 1953 v. s. 5 AN 2, ADJUSTABLE SUPPOR NG DEVICE FOR SANITARY NAPKINS AND THE LIKE Filed March 14, 1951 i fzwezzz or Uir zfma Gf/oan Patented July 14, 1953 2,645,225 I C E ADJUSTABLE SUPPOBTIN G DEVICE FOR SANITARY NAPKINS THE LIKE Virginia G. Sloan, Springfield, n1. Application March 14, 1951, Serial No. 215,527. 3 Claims. (in. lee-289) This invention relates to sanitary devices and more particularly to a sanitary pouch, container or covering which is adapted to hold a sanitary napkin during use.

In an attempt to solve the problem relating to removal of odors caused by decomposition of the menses sanitary napkins are often treated with some chemical substance which either attempts to mask the odor or combines with the menses in such a way as to render such odor less obnoxious. However, no complete solution to the problem has been found. There has even been developed a rubber cup which is supposed to be a substitute for the sanitary napkin and which is adapted to be used during the menstrual period. However, the chemically treated sanitary pads, although successful to some extent in mas-king or reducing the obnoxious odors, are not entirely satisfactory because of inconvenience caused the wearer resulting from twisting of the pad or because of the bulk of the pad itself which is usually constructed in standard sizes and the bulk for which there is no need during major portions of the menstrual period. Too, the sanitary napkins are so constructed that they cannot be satisfactorily separated to reduce their bulk without causing the pad to fall apart. I It is an object of my invention to provide a container or pouch into which a sanitary napkin may be inserted during use and which has truncated or triangular ends which results in the elimination of the twisting of the pad because of its connection to the container suspending means.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a container or pouch into which a part of a sanitary napkin may be inserted and which fits snugly against the body so as to substantially seal the sanitary napkin from the air to thereby preclude the escape of undesirable odors.

It is additionally an object of my invention to provide a container into which a sanitary napkin may be inserted during use thereof and in which the strain or pulling or twisting forces on the napkin are eliminated by virtue of the construction of the container.

Additionally, it is an object of my invention to provide in combination with a container for a sanitary napkin which may be used when the sanitary napkin is in use, a plurality of tube-like suspenders and bands which preclude twistin of the elements suspending the container.

n is additionally an object of my invention to provide a. container into which a sanitary napkin is inserted during use thereof and which provides an elongated opening through which only a portion of a sanitary napkin is exposed and having a plurality of transversely extending straps or bands which cause the sanitary napkin to be contained wholly within the container without destroying its utility and yet precluding undesirable contact of the napkin with the body to thereby eliminate discomfort due to rubbing and twisting of the pad.

-It is a further object of my invention to' provide. a container for use with a sanitary napkin which is substantially fluid. impervious so that the moisture will not penetrate the container nor the air come in. contact with the sanitary napkin during use thereof. Other and. further objects of my invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and numerals of reference thereon.

On the drawing: Fig. 1' is a top plan view of the pad holding element. 1

Fig. 2 is a view taken longitudinally of Fig. 1 and at right angles thereto.

Fig. 3 is a view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows which embodies portions of the invention disclosed herein. At the opposite ends of said holding element as a part thereof or integral therewith there will be found a pair of apices or tapered ends I I which are preferably of triangular shape in plan view.

In one form, as illustrated herein, the pad holding element comprises a lower or bottom wall or enveloping member l3 which is preferablya single layer of waterproof material or fabric.

To avoid needless repetition, it is to be understood that the entire body of the holding element is formed principally of plastic or of some suitable non-porous or waterproof material such as waterproof silk.

The lower wall I3 is to be seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

A pair of elongated strips or upper side elements I 4, preferably of a double thickness, are secured along the peripheral edges of the lower wall by means of lines of stitching or the like designated as I5 as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 so as to provide a partially open cavity or pocket 29 limited by the strips I4 and the lower wall I3.

The strips I4 are tapered at their opposite ends so as to conform with the general triangular shape of the holding element.

Numeral l6 designates a pair of triangular or tapered end covers which are connected to respective ends and form part of the pad holding element. The covers [6 are preferably of a double thickness and are secured by the lines of stitching l5 to the elongated strips l4 and to the lower wall [3 so as to form partially open pockets l2, at opposite ends of the pad holding element, and which are communicatively connected to the pocket 29. Such construction results in the formation of an elongated slot extending longitudinally of the pad holding element 10 from end to end of the pad holding element and herein designated by the numeral ll. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that said slot I! is covered at its opposite ends by the tapered end covers 16.

Spaced inwardly of the opposite ends of the pad holding element and extending transversely thereof in preferably parallel and spaced relation are a plurality of bands or straps which may likewise be of plastic or waterproof silk composition and which are secured at their opposite ends to the strips l4 and the lower housing element or wall l3 by the lines of stitching I5 as illustrated in Fig. 5.

Secured preferably to the upper faces of the opposite ends of the pad holding element III are the ends of a pair of bands or suspenders [9 which may be secured by any suitable means such as preferably fiat snap fasteners designated generally as 20 to thereby facilitate easy and rapid release of the holding element from engagement with the body so that the pad contained within the pocket 29 may be quickly and easily replaced. In the embodiment of the invention described herein the snap fastener element 20 comprises a male portion or element or stud or lug 22 as illustrated in Fig. 3 and a clamp or head 2| which secures the stud 22 to the suspenders IS in the usual manner. The female cooperating portion 23 of each of the snap fasteners 20 is secured to the upper surfaces of the respective end covers I6 by means of clamps or heads 24 which are extended through the lower wall [3 and the end cover [8 in the usual manner and as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The suspenders H) are preferably tubular in cross-section as illustrated in Fig. 1 and are adjustable by means of sliding slotted adjusting elements 25 which are secured at the ends of each of the suspenders and by means of which the length of said suspenders is adjustable as i1- lustrated in Fig. 6. A pair of loops 26 are formed in the suspenders l9.

Numeral 27 designates a body band or waist encircling strap which too is of preferably tubular construction and to the opposite ends of which are secured slidable adjusting elements 28 which are slotted and by virtue of which the diameter of the waist encircling band may be adjusted at will.

It is understood, of course, that the pad or sanitary napkin (which is not shown herein) is inserted into the pocket 29 and as there are no pins or fastening elements or other forces brought to bear directly on the sanitary napkin itself it will not twist or turn unless the holding element I0 turns or twists. Furthermore, it will be readily apparent that the thickness of the contents of the holding element may be adjusted at will without fear that it will fall apart because the outer securing covering of the napkin has been removed. Furthermore, the provision of the tapered ends results in a substantially equal distribution of forces on the pad holding element so that twisting of the pad holding element is substantially completely eliminated. By providing suspenders and waist bands of tubular construction undesirable twisting of the suspenders is overcome; and by providing a plastic'or waterproof silk con- 4 struction there will be no undesirable escape of moisture and a substantially air impervious seal is formed between the pad holding element and the body of the user to thereby preclude escape of undesirable odors.

It is to be understood that in the use contemplated the pad will extend beneath the elongated strips l4 and beyond the inner edges of the end covers [6 so that the pad may be held in place and the edges covered and kept from contact with the body to thereby preclude rubbing of the pad edges against the body and preclude the resultant chafing. Additionally, bands [8 further effeet the desired holding of the pad.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and as many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention within the scope of the claims could be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the 110- i companying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A device for holding sanitary napkins or the like during use thereof comprising an elongated container member including a lower wall, a pair of longitudinally extending strips, each of said strips being secured to a respective longitudinal edge of said lower wall and projecting toward each other, the inner marginal edges of said strips being transversely spaced to provide an elongated slot, and a plurality of bands extending transversely over said strips from one longitudinal marginal edge of said lower wall to the opposite marginal edge thereof, the ends of said bands being secured to said lower wall along the longitudinal marginal edges thereof.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1, in which the longitudinally disposed ends of the lower wall are tapered, and tapered end covers are secured to the ends of said lower wall along the longitudinal marginal edges thereof.

3. A device for holding sanitary napkins or the like during use thereof comprising an elongated container member including a lower wall of fluid impervious material, a pair of longitudinally extending strips, each of said strlps bein' secured to a respective longitudinal edge of said lower'wall and projecting toward each other, the inner marginal edges of said strips being transversely spaced to provide an elongated slot, and a plurality of bands extending transversely over said strips from one longitudinal marginal edge of said lower wall to the opposite marginal edge thereof, the ends of said bands being secured .to said lower wall along the marginal edges thereof.

VIRGINIA G. SLOAN.

References Cited in the file or this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 574,378 Bornstein -r. Jan. 5, 1897 828,809 Bo'rnstein Aug. 14, 1908 1,447,367 Williams et ah Mar. 6, 1923 1,606,688 Berm'an Nov. 9, 1926 1,773,880 Shea Aug. 26, 1930 2,091,018 Sivyer Aug. '24, 1937 2,536,796 Casey et a1 Jan. 2, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,653 Great Britain June 9, 1896 

